Vanuatu is slammed by a powerful storm – An Aussie is honored for fighting Islamic State – Is Ikea too gay for Russia? – Doctors give a man a new penis, and it really works – And a lot more in your CareerSpot World News Briefs:

The United Nations is working to confirm reports that Cyclone Pam has killed dozens of people in Vanuatu, a category five tropical storm that roared through the islands with winds as powerful as 270 kilometers per hour.  Images and video coming from social media show downed and stripped trees, downed power lines, flooding, and a lot of damage to buildings and infrastructure.

How much of a joke was the trial of former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed, who was just sentenced to 13 years in prison for “terrorism”?  Two of the three judges on the panel also appeared as prosecution witnesses.  And the lead judge waited until Midnight on Friday to announce the guilty verdict and sentence.  Critics say it’s designed to keep Nasheed from contesting another Presidential race.  In 2008, former political prisoner and dissident Nasheed became the Maldives’ first democratically elected president after three decades of dictatorship.  He tried to alert the world to the danger of global warming and rising seas to his nation.

Ikea is closing down part of its Russian website, for fear that images of happy same sex couples enjoying cheap assembled furniture violates Russia’s idiotic law against “gay propaganda”, which applies heavy fines for anyone providing information about homosexuality to people under 18.  Ikea says it has not gotten any official warning, and the Kremlin is not commenting.

South Africa is concerned that some of its citizens are allegedly working as mercenaries in Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram.  Recent photos on social media purport to show a Caucasian man riding in a troop transport near the combat zone in Nigeria’s northeast.  It’s against South African law to fight overseas for private gain.

Kurdish fighters held a memorial for Ashley Johnston, the Australian volunteer who died in combat two weeks fighting Islamic State.  Johnston was the first Westerner killed in the fight against the terrorist group.  IS holds a lot of territory in Syria and Iraq, but the outgunned and outnumber Kurds have carved out and defended a small enclave along the border with Turkey which they call Rojava, despite a lack of support from the West.  Johnston was the first of at least five Aussies to go to the Middle East to help the Kurdish People’s Brigades fight the IS terrorists.

Turkey says it arrested an apparent Syrian double agent.  The suspect allegedly helped three British schoolgirls cross the border to join Islamic State, while purportedly working as an intelligence agent for one of the countries in the coalition against the terrorists.  Canada is denying reports that it employed the suspect.

Police in Spain arrested eight people in anti-terrorism sweeps across the country.  Authorities say the six men and two women were connected to Islamic State via a recruiter who organized activities from the Middle East.

Pope Francis says he believes his pontificate will be short.  In an interview with Mexican television, Frank said he believes God put him in the role for four or five years as the leader of the world’s Roman Catholics, or maybe less.  He also says he doesn’t mind the job, but misses the days he could go out for a pizza unrecognized.

Is it just me, or does the world’s biggest Jesus statue in Poland look.. angry?

The head of Chile’s right-wing UDI party Ernesto Silva has been forced to resign in a widening financial scandal that has left many Chileans feeling betrayed.  The UDI had a loyal core of support leftover from the days of fascist dictator Augusto Pinochet, but the bribery and tax evasion scandal swirling around Banco Penta involving right-wing politicians is wearing that down, and the UDI’s ratings are plummeting.

Costa Rica’s Turrialba Volcano is blasting columns of smoke and ash into the sky, which is falling and covering much of the Central Valley in a thin coat of abrasive dust.  The volcano’s most powerful explosion in two decades caused Juan Santamaria airport in San Jose to close for a time.

Haiti has finally set a date for long-delayed elections, a controversy that has fueled months of street protests in the impoverished Caribbean country.  Legislative elections will take place on 9 August, and the Presidential vote is on 25 October.  The opposition says the delay is unacceptable delay for something that should have happened in 2011, and doubt President Michel Martelly will go through with the plan.

A South African judge dismissed a defense objection and will allow prosecutors to appeal the Oscar Pistorius case.  The former Olympic and Paralympic athlete is serving a five-year prison sentence for the “culpable homicide” of his partner Reeva Steenkamp.  Prosecutors still don’t buy Pistorius’ claim that he mistook her for a burglar when he gunned her down, and they want another crack at a murder conviction with a more serious penalty.

South African doctors say they’ve performed the world’s first successful penis transplant.  The 21-year old patient had to have his amputated (OOOUCH) because of complications from a botched circumcision (OOOOUUUCCCCCHHH).  The operation took place in December at Tygerberg hospital in Cape Town, with doctors from Stellenbosch University performing the re-donging of the patient in a nine-hour operation.  Doctors say that not only is the new Johnson a good match for color, but Mr. Hampton stood up – it is fully functional and the man and his partner are sexually active.  Every year, 250 South African boys lose their penises due to complications from circumcisions performed in tribal rituals.

Baby Gorilla at San Diego Zoo loves his cupcake party.